Beef · Slow cooker

Slow Cooker Beef Stew: Ultimate Comfort Food Recipe

A retired cook from the North East shows you how to make proper beef stew in a slow cooker, the kind that fills your kitchen with warmth on a freezing day. John's secret? Skip the flour coating and seal your meat first. Serve it piping hot with crusty bread for true comfort food.

R By Richard · Adapted from YouTube · Published 28 May 2026
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 5 hr (Low) / 3 hr (High)
🍽Serves 2
Beef Stew Slow Cooker/Crock-Pot: The Ultimate Comfort Food

Source video by YouTube on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

John, a retired cook from the North East of England, walks through a straightforward slow cooker beef stew. Beef chunks are seared in a hot pan, then added to a pot of swede, onion, leeks, carrots and baby potatoes with beef stock, red wine, bay leaves and tomato paste. After a few hours on low the stew is thickened with a cornflour slurry. The result is a rich, hearty stew perfect for cold days, served with crusty bread.

Slow cooker notes: Source is already a slow cooker recipe. Note from the cook: do not flour the beef before searing for slow cooker (gravy sticks to the sides). Thickening is done at the end with a cornflour slurry instead.

Editor's note: Quantities for beef, individual vegetables, beef stock, red wine and olive oil were not stated in the transcript (John refers to a written recipe page for weights, and says he 'weighed out each of the veggies for this 2.5-litre pot' without giving the figures on camera). These are left as null. Cornflour quantity (2 heaped teaspoons in 20 ml cold water), tomato paste (1 heaped tablespoon) and bay leaves (a couple) were stated. Servings estimated as 2 because the demo is in his small slow cooker 'perfect for my wife and I'. | Second-pass critique flagged 4 fabricated and 10 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.

Ingredients

Main
  • stewing beef (chuck, skirt, shin) or a lean roasting joint, cut into large chunks
  • 2 tbspolive oil
Vegetables
  • swede (swede), peeled and chopped
  • white onion, peeled and chopped
  • leeks, trimmed and sliced
  • carrots, peeled and chopped
  • baby (miniature) potatoes, skins on
Liquid and flavour
  • beef stock
  • red wine
  • 2bay leaves
  • 1 tbsptomato paste, heaped
Seasoning
  • salt
  • black pepper
To thicken
  • 2 tspcornflour (cornstarch), heaped, dissolved in 20 ml cold water (add late)

Method

  1. Using a sharp knife, cut the beef into quite large chunks. Don't worry about a little fat; it will render down during the long cook and add flavour.

    ~5 min

  2. Place a large frying pan or wok over a high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, sear the beef in batches so the pan isn't crowded, otherwise the meat will boil rather than fry. Do not flour the beef: in a slow cooker the gravy will stick to the sides and base.

    ~10 min

  3. Plug in the slow cooker and switch it to high. Add the prepared swede, onion, leeks, carrots and baby potatoes to the pot.

    ~5 min

  4. Pour in the beef stock (natural stock or made from 2 to 3 stock cubes). Add the red wine if using.

    ~2 min

  5. Add the bay leaves and the heaped tablespoon of tomato paste.

    ~1 min

  6. Add the seared beef to the pot and give everything a gentle mix.

    ~1 min

  7. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Put the lid on and let the stew come up to a simmer; depending on the temperature of the stock this can take 20 minutes to 1 hour.

  8. Once simmering, turn the slow cooker down to low. Cook for around 3 hours from hot stock, or about 5 hours from cold stock. Sit the pot on a plate or shallow tray in case of drips.

    ~180 min

  9. Check the meat is tender (the vegetables will be done if the meat is). Mix 2 heaped teaspoons of cornflour with 20 ml of cold water. Stir in half first, gently folding it through; add the rest if needed.

    ~3 min

  10. Fish out the bay leaves, put the lid back on and let the stew rest for 5 minutes before serving with crusty bread.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to brown the beef first?
Yes. Slow cookers don't brown meat, so searing the beef in a hot pan before it goes in builds the deep, savoury flavour that defines a good stew.
Why shouldn't I flour the beef like in an oven stew?
In a slow cooker the floured gravy tends to thicken too early and stick to the sides and base of the pot during the long, unstirred cook. Sear the beef without flour and thicken with a cornflour slurry at the end instead.
Can I set this up before work?
Yes. Use cold stock, set the slow cooker to low and time it for about 5 hours so it's ready when you get home. If your model has a built-in timer, even better.
What's the best cut of beef to use?
Cheaper stewing cuts like chuck, skirt or shin are ideal because the long cook breaks them down beautifully. A lean roasting joint also works well if you find one on offer.
Is the red wine essential?
No, it's optional, but a glass of red wine adds a noticeable richness and depth to the finished gravy.
Extraction notes (transparency): Quantities for beef, individual vegetables, beef stock, red wine and olive oil were not stated in the transcript (John refers to a written recipe page for weights, and says he 'weighed out each of the veggies for this 2.5-litre pot' without giving the figures on camera). These are left as null. Cornflour quantity (2 heaped teaspoons in 20 ml cold water), tomato paste (1 heaped tablespoon) and bay leaves (a couple) were stated. Servings estimated as 2 because the demo is in his small slow cooker 'perfect for my wife and I'. | Second-pass critique flagged 4 fabricated and 10 quantified issues. See critique.issues for detail.